


The Devil You Know

by advictorem



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Bianca is a vampire slayer, F/F, Romance, Transgender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 04:59:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6456916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/advictorem/pseuds/advictorem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bianca has run away from her destiny for a year. She should've known it would only come back to bite her in the ass. When she moves to a new school, she finds herself caught between a pack of intolerant werewolves (who seem very fond of her) and a love-crazed vampire that seems to think Bianca is the reincarnation of her soulmate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. aeternum vale

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by buffy and carmilla, with a dash of too much me in it.
> 
> main ship is thalianca.
> 
> I'm sorry I've been gone so long, don't kill me, I'm home now

This school year was going to be different, she had promised her younger brother that morning. They were going to make new, better friends, friends that Bianca wouldn’t scare away.

To Bianca's dismay, she and Nico were both enrolling into new schools.

Their foster father, Minos, dropped them off in front of Half-Blood Academy, a private high school, with only a notebook and a tattered denim backpack that she had been using for a good four years. Nico tensed next to her, dressed differently from his older sister.

Bianca wore a floral sundress. Next to her, Nico shivered in his slim pants and polo shirt.

“You should’ve worn a jacket,” she lectured good-naturedly, offering her sweater.

Nico quietly shook his head, refusing her offer.

Bianca smiled understandingly. “We’ll find you a good jacket. I’m sure this place has some kind of store. Maybe we can find a gender neutral jacket, at the very least.”

A kind woman approached them, handed them brochures, and offered to show Nico to his dorm. The siblings hadn’t wanted to part, but she was too old to go to high school at this point. The woman went to take her by the hand, but Bianca told her that she was supposed to attend the college campus across the block.

The woman smiled good-naturedly. “It’s a good school,” she had complimented.

Bianca sighed, relieved, and gave a smile of her own. “Thanks.”

The college was more confusing than the campus map made it out to be.

She meandered, clueless, for a good hour, studying her map more than her footsteps. She bumped into a solid body but managed to keep her footing, and she stared up at the intimidating brunette.

 "Watch it, meat," the girl snarled, brushing past her roughly, causing her dog tag to fly up and smack Bianca in the face.

Bianca sighed, frowning as she rubbed at her sore cheek. She could already tell this was going to be absolutely horrible. Her brother wasn’t in school with her, she knew no one, she would be worried the entire time, and no one in sight was quite like she was. She knew it had to be stupid and stereotypical, but she wasn't sure if she would ever find a place to fit in there.

She glanced around at the boys and girls. They were all relatively bland, dressed in jeans and simple tees.

She wandered on until she, once more, bumped into another girl. She rushed to apologize, not desiring another dog tag to the face. The girl smiled, reassuring her that it was all right.

“Oh, hi! You’re new?” the girl asked, brighter and bubblier than anyone Bianca had ever met—including Nico. “My name is Lacy. It’s nice to meet you!”

Bianca crinkled her nose but shook the offered hand. “Bianca di Angelo.”

“Oh, Bianca! That’s such a pretty name,” Lacy complimented. “Um, this may sound completely rehearsed, but would you perhaps be interested in joining any clubs or sports?”

Bianca smiled and blushed, suddenly feeling a little put on the spot. She shrugged, readjusting her books. “I haven’t given any the thought.”

Lacy smiled reassuringly. “I’m the second-in-command of the chastity club. I know it’s never really popular, especially among adult women our age, but I think we can really make a difference!”

Virgin for life?

Well she hadn’t lost her virginity so far.

Bianca shrugged. “Okay. I’ll think about it.”

She was led away by Lacy, who she learned that she shared a dorm room with. She was feeling a lot better now. Every bit of her still worried about her brother, but at least now she knew not everyone in the school was so bad.

A lone figure caught her eye as they passed building A. She couldn’t see their face but she could tell they were short or of average height and solid, dressed in black. She couldn’t see their eyes but she got the feeling they were watching her even though their head was tilted in another direction.

Bianca frowned in confusion but she was soon cheered up by the sight of their shared room. It was cozy and organized, just how she kept her room back home. She could never stand clutter.

“Wow,” she said, expressing her appreciation. “It’s—it’s so clean!”

Lacy smiled, nodding seriously. “Yes.”

Bianca stayed up all night talking to Lacy. She was actually really fun to be around once you got over the whole ‘never shuts up’ thing.

* * *

As the days passed, Bianca grew accustomed to Jupiter University.

She found a club to join and no—it wasn’t the chastity club, but it might as well have been.

Bianca joined the boxing club.

A bunch of badass ladies with fists of fury and dangerous gleams in their eyes that would go unchallenged by even the most confident of men? Well, that was exactly Bianca’s idea of a good time. And apparently it was also a good idea to Zoë, the captain of the boxing club.

She attended her morning classes, ate lunch with Zoë and her friends—Phoebe, Ava, and the coach of the boxing team, a lady named Artemis—and then, after lunch, she would attend her second half of classes. Without fail, she would also catch a glimpse of the faceless figure. Sometimes the figure was human; sometimes it appeared as a strange animal perched on the roof.

But it was always watching her.

Bianca was no stranger to weird occurrences. She knew she’d been haunted by all sorts of things as a young child. She had always fought off her fright, trying to fool herself into believing that _no, that couldn’t possibly be a ghost_ and _yes, weird shrouded figures are found all over the place._

Nico wasn’t as in denial as she was. He was convinced that it _was_ the ghost of their mother—their real mother—hovering by their beds at night, pressing her cold, translucent, airy lips to their foreheads as their eyes closed for sleep. That strange, hunched figure that once chased them out of the woods, its gnarled fingers barely grazing her side, was actually one of the _kallikantzaroi_ ; Nico had claimed so wildly, his small hands shaking in fear as he flipped the pages of his Mythomagic handbook.

Bianca knew it was better not to be curious about things. It was safer to remain oblivious to the unknown. Something couldn’t hurt her if she pretended not to believe or see or _recognize._

She remembered the strange man that had approached her just a year ago, showing up at the orphanage. He had been dressed in a tweed suit—he had introduced himself as Chiron Brunner. He claimed to be a Watcher. And he had claimed that she was the Slayer.

_Into every generation, a slayer is born. She, alone, will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness._

Or something like that.

Bianca hadn’t exactly wanted to listen to him. She just begged the director of the orphanage—a woman named Alecto—to refuse if the guy wanted to adopt her and Nico.

C’mon. It was ridiculous.

Her? A vampire slayer?

Sure, she might have been able to do things most college students couldn’t do—like lift entire cars and stab people with deformed faces in the heart with wooden stakes, instantly turning them to dust—

Okay, so she was a vampire slayer. But running away from her destiny hadn’t screwed her over so far. In fact, ever since she stopped buying into that nonsense, her life was going pretty great. They finally got adopted and it seemed pretty permanent this time—even though Minos was really kind of a major asshole. She got into a really good private academy, and it was fairly close to Nico’s school. She hadn’t seen a vampire since she left the orphanage in Maine.

Bianca would just stay away from being curious. Being oblivious was so much _safer_.

One day she grew curious about the figure, however, so her plan started going to shit then. Nevertheless, she decided to investigate. She approached the figure. She had only blinked once—half a blink, she swears—and lost sight of it. So, she decided to walk into dark nooks and crannies between the walls and buildings. She made to step between buildings A and B when she suddenly found herself pulled into it.

 “Oh,” a voice sighed with relief. “It’s just another student.”

 “Who are you people?”

The girl who grabbed her, a short, curvy girl with dark hair, smiled and sat back down by the others. “I’m Piper,” she introduced. “Piper McLean.”

Piper looked to the girl next to her. Before she could introduce her, the brunette spoke up.

“I’m Clarisse. And if you tell anyone you saw us here, I’ll pull your brain out through your ass.”

Oh, right. The girl with the abusive dog tags.

Piper looked at Bianca, her smile friendly and her eyes a watery mixture of colors.

Bianca cleared her throat. “Okay. Right. Well I’ll just leave you to that—”

“Wait!” a towheaded boy jumped up.

Bianca hadn’t even noticed him standing there.

He outstretched his hand for her to shake. His skin was chilly. He reminded Bianca of someone—there was something familiar about those bright blue eyes and his strong, defined jaw. “My name is Jason. It’s very nice to meet you, Bianca.”

She smiled, weakly shaking his hand once she realized that she had never introduced herself to any of them.

Jason’s eyes widened and he looked to the un-introduced girl for help.

She cleared her throat, offering Bianca a tense smile. “Jason knows you from his economics class. He sometimes gets ahead of himself. You’ll have to forgive him. I am Reyna.”

“Nice to meet you, Reyna.”

She was a deadly kind of pretty, if Bianca could describe it in any way. Her dark hair was braided in a way that was impossibly neat, not a strand out of place, and, even though she was on the ground, she sat against the wall with what Bianca could only refer to as poise.

Even though they had super friendly smiles, there was something way off about them. Their eyes were…different. Perhaps they had more glow to them than most people. The way Reyna was looking at her…like she was accessing all the information that she could at first glance. It all sent Bianca’s head spinning.

“We’re just skipping class,” Clarisse grumbled. “You can stop with the freak out.”

Bianca prepared herself to reply but it got stuck in her throat when she spotted someone lying in the corner. She pointed to them. “Uh, who’s—?”

“Clovis,” Jason cut in. If Bianca wasn’t so good at reading people, she wouldn’t have caught the initial look of surprise. “All he does is sleep.”

“Oh,” Bianca said, noticing the almost murderous glint in Clarisse’s eyes. “Well, I guess I might see you guys around. It was uh…a pleasure.”

“That it was,” Reyna droned calmly. “Have a good day, Bianca.”

And she ran off.

* * *

Bianca met up with Nico that Friday, and then proceeded to walk him back to her dorm room to talk. They had quite a bit of catching up to do.

“How are you liking your courses?” she asked him, handing him a cold bottle of water.

He shrugged. “They’re fine.”

“Make any friends?”

Nico avoided the question, and she noticed that his cheeks were tinted red.

“Okay,” she said. “Have you been eating well?”

He nodded quietly.

“Good,” she said with a genuine smile. “You have to understand that this is a lot different from home, fratellino.”

“Why did you join the boxing club?” Nico asked, suddenly wary. They sat on Bianca’s bed, cross-legged.

Bianca mindlessly flipped her dark braid to her other shoulder. “Why? Is that a problem?”

“I—I don’t know,” Nico replied. “The girls are just a little…strange. Don’t they strike you as off?”

 Bianca paused. “Not—not really. I mean, sometimes Artemis pushes us a little too hard at practice. And I hear the girls talking sometimes. They have some kind of hunting club they haven’t told me about yet.” She rolled her eyes. “I guess it’s for older members of the boxing team.”

Nico shook his head. “I don’t think they’re what they seem, Bianca.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just get this feeling,” Nico started before he cut himself off. “Never mind. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Bianca sighed. “Everyone at this school is something, Nico.”

* * *

 The next day, Lacy came home to their dorm with shocking news. Well, it was shocking to Bianca.

“We’re going to a party!”

“Um. Excuse me?”

Lacy smiled, happy to repeat herself. “We’re going to a party! One of the boy buildings is throwing a post-game celebration and we just got invited! I know, I know. I’m the best roommate ever!”

Bianca frowned, glancing around the room to avoid making eye contact. Her journal—that was an interesting thing to stare at. It’s been forever since she’s taken the time to sit down and write in that. It started off as a coping method—suggested by some pseudo-psychiatrist who used to visit their orphanage—but it did succeed in making her life slightly less disgusting.

“Uh, I don’t know, Lacy. I’m not really one for parties.”

“Oh, c’mon, you scrooge. It’ll be fun!” Lacy claimed, plopping down onto her bed.

Bianca wanted to point out that it wasn’t Christmas, but she kept her mouth shut.

She wasn’t sure about this. It wasn’t exactly easy to stay under the radar if she went out to parties.

And somehow, Bianca found herself being dragged over to Building F, which held the dormitories of boys. Wonderful.

Surprisingly, most of her friends from the boxing club were there. Unsurprisingly, they all looked ready to kill. They were all dressed in silver camo and she’s sorry—really, she is—but she couldn’t help but judge. Who would dress like that to a party? After all, it wasn’t a hunting party.

Bianca was walking mindlessly through the house, unable to work up the courage to approach Zoë and the others. She eyed them resting uneasily on the couch, making her way upstairs in search of a bathroom.

Now, Bianca was by no stretch of the imagination a _goody-two-shoes._ She was an older sibling (or perhaps merely a hypocrite) and while she would never even _dream_ of letting Nico do these things, there was nothing keeping her from drinking with the others. And so she had drunken a little bit. Not much, really, just enough to seriously impair her senses—common sense being one of them.

As usual, she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going.

She bumped into a solid body, which caused her to arch herself away, in such a way that she was doomed to go tumbling down the steps.

Strong hands wrapped around her back and she was nearly pulled back into the solid body.

Bianca breathed unsteadily, eyes directly meeting the lapels of a leather jacket, which was riddled with buttons from bands she had never even heard of. Did she dare look above the collar of that smoke-scented button-up?

She dared.

The face was blurred but she could barely make out a strong jaw and startling blue eyes. Well, she thought they were blue—she was seeing four of them, so she might’ve gotten the color of them wrong, too.

There was something so familiar and intoxicating about their touch—the way their hands fit on Bianca’s hips as she was steadied.

She thought the person introduced themselves, but all she heard was garbled noise, like she was having a conversation with a teacher from Charlie Brown.

Her dark eyes followed the way that lush mouth moved, caressing the words she couldn’t decipher.

“Bianca,” she introduced herself, perhaps a bit too loudly. “Bathroom.”

The figure’s smile—or was it a smirk?—dissipated. A simple nod. Bianca was led further upstairs. She found herself in the bathroom, and she was pretty sure she ate soap that she swore looked like hard candy a second ago. By the time she stumbled out of the bathroom, the person with the beautiful mouth was gone.

The rest of the party didn’t go so smoothly. In fact, meeting the extremely illusive person was the highlight of Bianca’s night.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the highlight of her morning.

Lacy was.

Or, rather, the absence of Lacy was the highlight of her morning.

She looked everywhere—under the sheets, in the closet, underneath the bed, down the hall, in the restrooms, in the showers, in the break room, in the lobby. There was no sign of Lacy. Anywhere. She wasn’t in her classes either.

She went to the dean. She had to find some answers.

“Sit down.”

Bianca nervously sat down in front of the regal woman. She was tall and stood firm, her silky hair let loose and flowing around her blazer-clad shoulders.

The dean took her seat behind a desk. “Now, what’s this about a missing student?”

She sounded almost bored by the entire concept. She listened, though, which was more than any other girl in her building did. Bianca tried to talk to others—Drew, Nyssa, _Piper_ —but they all acted like they had no idea what she was saying. The dean sighed when she was finished and leaned back in her seat.

“None of the others understood,” Bianca explained further. “They acted like they just saw Lacy but I couldn’t find her anywhere.”

“Where’s the last place you saw her?”

“We went to the party in Building F together.”

The dean nodded like she understood something Bianca didn’t. It did nothing to soothe her nerves. “And how did you get back to your building?”

“I walked,” Bianca guessed.

“Was Lacy with you?”

She started to say yes but then she realized that the last thing she remembered was encountering the blurry figure. “I don’t remember.”

The dean’s eyebrows arched in suspicion. “So, I can safely presume you were drinking, Miss di Angelo?”

“No! Of course not!” she shot quickly.

She thought the woman was going to strangle her but she remained relaxed in her chair, as if she had expected Bianca’s reaction.

A knock sounded on the door, interrupting the dean’s response.

The woman sighed. “Yes?”

A head popped in the doorway. Straight black hair, eye-patch, dark, beady eye. Bianca didn’t know him—had never seen him—but something screamed at her that he was danger.

“Ethan,” the dean addressed with a sort of tense smile. “What is the trouble?”

Ethan’s eye bore into Bianca as he answered. Was there a draft? “Can I speak to you alone?”

The dean nodded, standing up from her seat. She looked at Bianca. “Stay put.”

She left the room— _the dean’s office._

Bianca glanced around the place for the first time. It was simple and nothing too fancy. There were a couple of plaques on the wall, commending the dean for being staff member of the year and so forth. She spotted a letter on the desk and, without thinking, she flipped it open. She couldn’t help it that she had a curious (nosy) soul.

It was hard to read with her severe dyslexia but she managed to decipher the first two sentences.

_I found the Slayer._

The door slammed open and she immediately sent the letter flying off the desk. The dean didn’t seem to notice, however, and continued to maneuver around the room until she was back in her chair. She sat across from Bianca again and braced her hands on the desk.

“Now. To address your earlier inquiry, Lacy’s parents pulled her out of school. They stopped funding her schooling.”

“What?” Bianca couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Why would they pull her out so late at night? It doesn’t make any sense.”

The dean shrugged in disinterest, smiling almost spitefully with unpracticed patience. “Maybe something happened at the party last night that gave her parents the incentive to pull her out of the college. But that’s none of our business. If there is nothing else I can help you with, you may see yourself out.”

Bianca wanted to grumble and pout until she got some answers out of the stern woman, but she figured she’d get a knife in her belly before she got one. She stopped in the doorway and cocked her head to the side, finding that she had never even bothered to glance at her name plaque.

She subtly turned her head, looked over her shoulder, and her eyes found the letters etched atop her desk.

_Juno._

* * *

Bianca returned to her dorm, perplexed beyond the meaning of the word. She sat on her bed wordlessly, staring at the wall opposite her—the wall that Lacy’s bed was pressed up against.

It just didn’t make sense to her. Why would Lacy just up and decide to leave? Was the college really that bad?

She didn’t think so. She’d already made friends—Annabeth, a super smart girl in her Introduction to Philosophy course, Zoë, Ava, Phoebe, even one of the party dudebros, Percy.

Did Lacy feel threatened? Was she scared of something?

She forced herself to acknowledge the letter she had found in the Dean’s office.

_I found the Slayer._

Slayer. Other people knew she was a Slayer. People at this school. The dean knew. Did that mean the dean was evil? Or perhaps she was a friend of the watcher’s? She still wasn’t sure she could trust the woman. Something about her chilled Bianca, and not in a good, refreshing way.

Bianca jumped and fell out of bed when the door to her dorm suddenly flew open. She groaned, hearing several of her bones pop uncomfortably, before she lifted her head. She stared up at a smirking figure.

The figure squatted in front of her face, her combat boots squeaking a little as they settled against the wooden floor.

Her entire ensemble screamed _punk_.

There was even a lame ass chain looping from the front to the back pocket of her ripped black jeans. And she was wearing a tank with some loud band on it; she had a lip piercing and tattooed arms, designs of exotic flowers, vines, and snakes, and arrows, and strange foreign characters that Bianca’s brain rearranged to make sense of.

The girl’s face was achingly familiar.

Freckles dotted her nose, her jaw could probably sharpen rocks, and her red lips were thick and—

“You’re the girl from the party,” Bianca realized.

Blue eyes narrowed. “Thalia,” she introduced herself. Her voice was deep but smooth. It made Bianca lift her head just a tiny bit more. “Your new roommate.”


	2. memento mori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bianca finds out about Thalia, everyone under the sun finds out about Bianca.

Thalia was a lousy roommate.

Once you got past the whole  _looks like a sex goddess_ thing, Thalia was actually mostly annoying.

She was so messy and mean and she was always watching Bianca, looming over her whenever she was doing anything. God, she was incredibly nosy.

They argued every day, too.

The first time Bianca met her—at the party, when they bumped into one another—she had been awed by how beautiful and mesmerizing Thalia was. Now? Now, she would rather walk on shattered glass for eight miles and then jump into a pool of lemon juice before spending one more second around Thalia.

Every night was filled with witty comebacks and words spat in anger or frustration—and, Bianca hated to say it, but at least Thalia challenged her.

She just challenged her a little too well.

Like she knew Bianca, front to back.

They had only just met.

It was about eleven at night, and Bianca found herself watching Thalia for once. She wanted to make sure she was completely asleep. The last thing she needed was some creepy roommate tracking her.

Bianca bundled up in warm clothes and, although she was uncomfortably hot (kind of like Thalia), she walked out of her dorm. She wasn’t sure where she was going to go, really. She could’ve gone anywhere on campus. Mostly, she just wanted to get away.

But curiosity had her going to that secluded section between buildings A and B, where she had met Clarisse, Piper, Reyna, and Jason.

She didn’t expect to see what she did. The boy, Clovis, was still sleeping in the corner. There was some liquid spilled all around him. Who could sleep while they were lying in that?

Why wasn’t he sleeping in his dorm? Did his friends not wake him up?

Bianca reluctantly walked over to him. He absolutely reeked. She didn’t want to but she decided to shake him by his shoulder.

She…she knew that smell.

“Wake up—”

She moved him with too much force and he fell over onto his back, to where she could finally see his face. It was pale blue and bony. His chest wasn’t rising. He had blood splattered everywhere—his own blood, it looked to be.

Bianca was surprised that she wasn’t vomiting. Why was she taking this so calmly?

He was dead.

He had never been sleeping.

He had been dead.

She turned his head. Two steep holes in his neck, perfectly spaced from one another.

He had been bitten.

* * *

Bianca wished that had been the first dead body she had ever seen.

The sad truth of it?

It was one among several.

Every foster parent Nico and Bianca had ever had ended up completely dead. She emphasizes  _completely_  because…well, no matter how much Bianca tried to deny it to herself, she was just as superstitious as her little brother was.

They never questioned the deaths. The other kids at the orphanage had called them cursed, spreading wild rumors that discouraged any sensible couple from taking them into their home.

Even though she was used to death, she wasn’t used to discovering a  _murdered_ student, and so of course her nerves were definitely shooting through the roof.

_It’s gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay. It’s just a case of missing students and dead boys found in between buildings. No big deal. It’s gonna be just fine._

Bianca’s heart was racing, though, and, if that told her  _anything_ , it told her she was in over her head. She felt like she owed it to them—to Clovis and Lacy—to discover the reason behind their respective disappearances and Clovis’ murder.

She had to find out. No one else seemed phased by it.

She ran all the way from the space between the buildings to her dorm room, her damn asthma causing her to nearly collapse at the doorway.

Thalia heard her struggling, apparently, and opened the door to their shared room, looking like she had just rolled out of bed. Her short hair was sticking up in strange places and she was in a pair of boxers and a form-fitting t-shirt. The short sleeves hugged her defined arms just a little too well, and Bianca had to force herself to focus.

“Bianca,” she said when she opened her eyes wide enough. She made a show of wiping the sleep from her eyelids, holding the door and making room for Bianca to stumble into their room. “What are you doing out this late?”

“Thalia,” Bianca breathed out, reluctantly sitting on the corner of Thalia’s bed. “I—I kind of saw something tonight…and I know you’re gonna probably think I lost my mind, but…I…this kid, Clovis…”

Thalia sharply inhaled.

Bianca studied her.

Her hands were clenching the sheets. Her leg was rapidly moving, her bare foot too quick to make a noise as it bounced on the carpeted floor. She was nervous. Why?

“What about him?” Thalia asked eventually. “Is he your boyfriend or something?”

“No! God, no! He’s…he’s…I went to the small space between Building A and Building B—”

“Why did you go there?” Thalia questioned. She was angry now. She leaned closer to Bianca, her eyes tearing into her. “Why would you go there?”

Bianca gulped. “I…I was just curious.”

“Curious?” Thalia rasped darkly. “Do you know what happens to little stupid girls who get  _curious_?”

Why was she so angry all of a sudden? What had Bianca  _done_?

This was why she was so frustrating!

Bianca had tried to talk to her for advice—she had tried to confide in her!

And Thalia goes and gets pissed off about it, and decides that, instead of soothing Bianca, it would be better to get an attitude.

Bianca huffed, more angered now than scared. She should’ve been scared. “I’m far from stupid. I know a lot of things. I know I shouldn’t have gone there. I know that something is up with this school. I know Lacy didn’t just  _drop out_  in the middle of the semester. And I know that Clovis is  _dead_ and his body was ditched between Building A and Building B!”

“Don’t yell at me.”

Bianca made to reply angrily but then realized how deathly calm Thalia now looked. She didn’t look scared or worried. Her eyes were dark storm clouds, sending a rumble like thunder through her gut.

“Did you hear me?” Bianca asked. “Clovis is dead. A student is dead! What am I supposed to do? Oh, God, I’m the one who found him. I should’ve called the cops. I should have told the dean—”

Thalia paled. “Look, you have to stop. Do not tell  _anyone_ about Clovis, and do  _not_ go there again. It’s bad enough you got everyone riled up about your stupid friend. Don’t get the police involved. This is beyond them.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Bianca snapped. “And don’t call Lacy stupid! I know something is going on here. I’m going to find out what happened to them!”

Thalia’s jaw clenched. “I am trying to protect you.”

“I don’t  _need_ protecting!” Bianca snarled. “And since when were we friends?”

Thalia bit her lip, obviously trying not to say something. She shook her head in anger, slowly stood up from the bed and made her way over to her closet. Bianca clenched her jaw as she watched her roommate angrily disrobe— _whoa_ , god, that body.

Bianca was so busy blushing that she didn’t register Thalia tossing new clothes on and leaving their room.

When she was left to her own thoughts, she let herself fall back on Thalia’s bed. A scent not unlike an exploding peppermint factory filled her nostrils and she couldn’t help her pleased sigh. Thalia was so incredibly annoying, but she smelled like heaven.

Ugh.

Bianca crawled into her own bed, feeling anger still thrumming in her veins, trying to incite her, calling her into action, wanting her to march back outside and report everything to the dean.

She knew she couldn’t. This whole “disappearing students and cult murders” thing was way beyond the authority of a dean. Besides, the dean gave her the creeps. There was something so unnerving about her, and Bianca felt that, for some reason, she should recognize the name  _Juno._ Hadn’t she met a Juno before? No, she wouldn’t forget a name like that.

And, also, Thalia was right, as much as she hated to admit it. She couldn’t call the cops. What if she were suddenly a suspect? What if Piper and the others got arrested when they weren’t the ones to blame?

No, Bianca would figure everything out.

Even if it meant she would have to pick up a stake again and kill a few more vampires.

The first step in figuring everything out was interrogating Thalia—she had taken the news about Clovis too calmly. Thalia knew Piper and the others. Even though she hadn’t mentioned them, that fact was fairly clear.

Bianca had no other option but to trail Thalia, find out where she goes when she disappears into the night.

And she would need help for that.

* * *

“What?”

Zoë stared at her in disbelief.

“She just gives me chills,” Bianca reasoned. “Bad chills. Please, I need your help.”

Her friend released a stressed breath through her teeth, leaning forward in her seat with her hands on her knees. “Okay,” she acquiesced eventually. “I’ll have the girls take shifts tracking her. If Coach Artemis finds out what we’re up to—”

“Blame it on me,” Bianca said, delivering a swift left hook to her sparring partner.

Phoebe rubbed her sore side, pulling herself off the floor. “Thalia’s dangerous,” she said, dark eyes flickering to Zoë. She shook her gloved fists out, rolling her neck to get painful kinks out. “Are you sure about all of this, Zo?”

“Bianca needs our help,” Zoë offered simply, giving her that half-smile that made her breath catch. “She’s one of us now.”

“Not yet she’s not,” Phoebe said cryptically.

“Pheebs,” Zoë warned. “Quiet.”

“We need to talk about it at least,” Phoebe disagreed. “She has a right to know. I mean, you obviously trust her. So why not?”

“What—what’s she talking about?” Bianca asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Zoë?”

Zoë’s mouth gaped open as she tried to find words. Her caramel eyes flickered from Bianca to Phoebe rapidly. “Okay. Fine. It just feels like too soon. Bianca, follow us.”

“Should we be in the woods?” Bianca repeated for what had to be the millionth time. “I—I don’t think the dean will be okay with this.”

Zoë smiled reassuringly, grabbing Bianca by the hand. It comforted her instantly, and she couldn’t help but smile back.

“Bianca,” Phoebe warned. “You might wanna step back a little bit.”

“Okay,” she said breathlessly. “What’s going on?”

Zoë distanced herself. “This is what I wanted to show you.”

Bianca watched, transfixed, as the bones of Zoë’s body rearranged inhumanly; her body grew even longer and it was forced to hunch forward, her eyes narrowed, fur sprouted all over, until a majestic black wolf was all that stood in her place.

Bianca wasn’t breathing.

Bianca wasn’t breathing!

Phoebe rubbed her back. “Take it easy,” she advised. “Just calm down.”

“What—what—what—”

“We’re werewolves.”

Bianca tried to pull away but Phoebe had her by the collar of her shirt.

“It’s not a curse; it’s a blessing,” she reassured, beckoning Zoë forward. “Don’t be afraid, Bianca. She has mastered control better than any of us.”

“Any of you?” Bianca repeated frightfully. “How many are there?”

“Eh…everyone in the boxing club,” Phoebe admitted. “It’s a gift. From Coach Artemis.”

“Coach Artemis is a werewolf?!”

“You’re not asking the right questions,” Phoebe said with an amused smile. “We’re blessed, unlike those disgusting vampires.”

This was getting all too real.

“Werewolves were in this town first. It’s our sacred duty to protect it. Coach Artemis told us that she sensed vampires suddenly, though, actually not too long before you transferred here,” she continued, not at all phased by Bianca’s disbelief. “I know it’s shocking, but hey. So, if you want to truly be one of us, this is the power you’ll have.”

“I—I don’t want to be a monster. I’m normal! I’m normal!”

“Not a monster,” Phoebe argued. “We protect students. The vampires…they’re the ones behind the students’ disappearances. We’re trying to bust them, but it’s not exactly easy. They’re swift and powerful. They have abilities that surpass ours. Humans don’t stand a chance against them. We’re the only ones safe from them—they can’t stomach werewolf blood.”

“My God,” Bianca panted, shrugging off Phoebe’s hold. “What kind of drugs are you  _on_?”

“Bianca—”

“NO!” She backed away, shaking her head wildly. “Just—just leave me alone!”

She had worked too hard to get away from this.

Phoebe tried to stop her but Bianca was out of the woods and onto campus before she could. She kept running even though she was receiving strange looks from everyone walking to their classes or to clubs.

She bumped into Annabeth clumsily.

Annabeth hurriedly collected her texts from the ground. “Slow down. Where are you off to?”

Bianca smiled weakly, waving her hand around.  She was winded and red in the face, but she couldn’t just keep on running while someone made an attempt at conversation. That would definitely be of the rude variety, she lectured herself.

“Well, I’m just…uh, running.”

“From?” Annabeth prompted, arching a brow knowingly.

“Uh…”

Bianca glanced behind her, seeing Zoë and Phoebe emerge from the woods, Zoë with a new set of clothes on. Her friends. They were her friends, weren’t they? And Zoë hadn’t tried to hurt her, even as some kind of feral wolf. She was like a domestic dog. She even had the puppy dog eyes.

“Nothing,” she said, turning back to Annabeth with an unconvincing smile. “Just running for exercise.”

“I thought you had asthma,” Annabeth remarked coolly. When Bianca gave her the trademark  _what the hell_ look, she explained easily, “Thalia mentioned it.”

How did Thalia know?

Sure, Bianca had showed up to their doorstep completely out of breath, but she had never mentioned her condition.

Wait. Annabeth knew Thalia?

“I can still exercise,” Bianca blurted defensively.

“I’ll see you around,” Annabeth said politely, but her lips stayed pursed in suspicion. “Tell Thalia I said hello.”

Bianca breathed out in relief, waving goodbye to her as she walked the rest of the way back to her dorm. She wasn’t going to risk running anymore. She was already out of breath.

Naturally, upon opening her dorm room door, she couldn’t see her roommate anywhere.

Oh well, it was for the best.

At least Bianca could get to the bottom of everything now.

Even though she loathed technology (Nico was the one who knew his way around a computer), Bianca pulled her laptop from underneath her bed and walked it over to the desk, carefully setting it down before taking a seat in the adjustable red office chair.

She opened it up, cracked her knuckles in a way that made her remind herself she wasn’t in some dramatic movie, and powered it up.

 _The Internet is your friend_ , she reminded herself as she opened up a search engine.

What was she supposed to search?

_Jupiter University._

_A+ school, admirable athletic program, blah, blah, blah_. Nothing at all was written about the disappearances.

Fine.

Bianca released a breath, feeling incredibly stupid as she typed out her next search.

_Werewolves._

All of the overhyped links she clicked failed to tell her anything she didn’t already know. Humans were cursed, infected, what have you, and they turned into wolves with the full moon.

How come Zoë had been able to…transform during the day?

This was stupid.

Hadn’t Bella Swann already done this routine?

Next, she searched  _vampires._

She already knew the basics—thanks to Brunner. Stake to the heart, crosses, garlic.

But she found things she didn’t know, too. If they were true, that is.

She found out where they came from. According to Vampire Lore, the official website, all vampires originated with the same host or sire, the infamous Dracula. Bianca didn’t know if that was true. She probably should have paid attention to Brunner’s more incessant, crazy ramblings.

She sighed, slipping her cell phone out of her pocket. She flipped through her recent calls, easily finding the number that called her day after day, leaving her no voicemails. She knew who it was. She called the number back.

Within the first ring, just like she thought, he picked up.

“Bianca,” Brunner’s voice crackled. “You—”

“Don’t start, please,” she cut him off. “I have questions. That’s what you do, right? Guide me and stuff. Answer questions.”

“There is much more than that, Bianca. As your Watcher, I am there to inform you, to coach you, to train you to defend yourself—”

He talked too much.

“Werewolves.”

“Pardon?”

“Werewolves,” she repeated. “Good or bad?”

“Historically, Slayers have had little to no contact with them, which could be a good thing,” he answered. “On the other hand, some are known to have vicious instincts and very little control. I suppose it would depend on their sire or bloodline.”

“Artemis sired them,” she provided. “Do you know anything about her?”

He choked back a startled gasp. “Artemis? She was the first werewolf. She sired Lupa.”

“Powerful, then,” Bianca concluded. “And they seem to be allied against vampires, they warned me.”

“Warned you? About the vampires?” his voice was a discreet whisper, like he thought some kind of demon CIA was listening in on them. “That makes sense. Artemis wouldn’t be there without reason. In lore, werewolves traditionally protected villages from vampires, but for Artemis herself to be there? Whatever you are dealing with must be inconceivably powerful.”

“I can handle a couple of vampires.”

“You have only killed one, and it was on accident.”

Bianca grumbled. “How do you even know about that?”

“I am your Watcher,” he answered simply. “Bianca, I need to be there with you. I know I probably came off the wrong way, but I am here to help. You can’t go up against this threat without at least a little bit of know-how.”

“Jupiter University.”

“What?”

“I go to Jupiter University. Dorm 113.”

Before he could respond, she hung up.

Bianca huffed and slammed her laptop shut. She threw her head in her hands and rubbed her temples, releasing a long sigh.

“Bianca.”

“Fuck!”

She toppled out of her chair.

Strong hands pulled her up.

“Why do you always have to frighten the daylight out of me?” Bianca snapped, rubbing her head as she sat back down. “God, Thalia.”

“Not everyone needs that daylight,” her roommate said with a smirk.

“I know,” Bianca grumbled in agreement. “Seeing as you sleep all throughout the day.”

Thalia offered an apology, and Bianca was so shocked by the sentiment alone that she nearly fell down again.

“We need to talk,” Thalia released an irritated breath.

She stood in front of Bianca, towering over her as usual. She threw off her leather jacket and tossed it onto her bed. Her hands found her hips in the way that they always did whenever she began to say  _anything_ to Bianca.

“I went to check out what you told me…about Clovis.”

 _And_?

“He’s gone.”

* * *

Bianca shivered in her coat, hustling across the campus after Thalia, who had impressively long strides.

Thalia threw her buzzed head over her shoulder, hair getting tossed around by the wind as her eyes sunk into Bianca’s lagging figure. She quickly reached back and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers, not even batting an eyelash when Bianca jumped as she felt how cold her fingers were.

Despite the chill of her skin, Bianca’s stomach was warmed as butterflies were ignited in the pit of it. She didn’t know if she wanted to pull away. She tried not to blame herself. Thalia was, after all, very attractive. That didn’t mean she  _liked_ her or anything.

“Bianca,” Thalia panted out, her breath sending clouds of white spiraling into the air. “Is this where you found him?”

They were between the buildings. Bianca felt her heart drop to her heels when she didn’t spot Clovis there. She nodded quickly, unintentionally pulling Thalia closer for warmth. It didn’t help.

Bianca cleared her throat quietly, prompting the other girl to meet her eyes. “What happened to him? I don’t understand. He was here. I swear.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream? Dreams can seem real, you know. Scary real.”

Was that personal experience or a blatant cover-up?

Bianca shook her head. “I know what I saw. What—what I  _felt._ Thalia, I know this is crazy but you have to take my word for it. Someone killed Clovis. Someone took Lacy.”

Thalia’s jaw clenched. “Not someone. Something. Somethings.”

“Tell me!” Bianca pleaded in a whisper.

Thalia shook her head. “We need to get back. It’s late. If the dean catches us out here—”

“So what? She won’t do anything! And we have a good reason to be back here. A student  _died_!”

Thalia shook her head. “Trust me. You don’t want her involved.”

Bianca started to ask why when she was interrupted by a piercing howl. It was followed by many others. Thalia’s body was as tense as a board, but her face was relaxed and confident like she had no reason to fear  _wolves_.

“We need to leave. Now.”

“No—”

Bianca saw Thalia disappear in a flash, and before she could finish her exclamation, she felt a stinging pain that sent her eyes rolling into the back of her skull.

* * *

_It took Bianca a while to realize she was dreaming. When she saw what Thalia was wearing, though, she decided it was definitely her mind playing tricks on her._

_“How many do you think there are?” her dream-self panted._

_Thalia adjusted the crown atop her head. She was imposing on her throne, and it was no surprise that the few people in the room—the servants—went about their business, chilled by the way she cleared her throat._

_“I do not care for their numbers,” Thalia answered. “I am going to keep you safe, no matter how many of my own men I will have to sacrifice.”_

_“Just let him win,” Bianca whispered, resigned. “He will not stop until he has me again.”_

_Thalia snarled._

_“Thalia.” Bianca’s voice was soft, almost dead. “He’s my father. You do not understand how strong he is or what he is capable of. He is much worse than you think.”_

_Thalia tightened her grip on the armrests of her throne. “You think I fear his demons? I will tear through them just as I would mortals.”_

_“They are vampires,” Bianca hissed, not wanting to be overheard by the lingering servants. “Do you not understand that? You cannot keep me safe if you risk yourself like this. Your army will fall. Your kingdom will perish. Let me go.”_

_Bianca quickly found herself in Thalia’s strong embrace. “Never,” Thalia whispered, pressing a kiss to her hair. “You are my kingdom. Loving you is what I am destined for. Not even your father will succeed in keeping me from you.”_

_She released a wistful sigh, feeling her lover’s lips sail across her neck. “And if he takes me away? If he…if they win?”_

_“I’ll always find you. Forever.”_

It wasn’t the first time she’d had a dream like that, but it was the first time that she saw a face on her  _forbidden lover._ She didn’t know if it flattered her or disturbed her that her mind chose Thalia’s face.

Bianca wasn’t sure if she ever hit the ground but, when she woke up, she was in her bed, back in her dorm, her friends looming over her with a cup of water.

Annabeth fed it to her. “We were worried about you. You’ve been out for a couple of hours.”

Zoë’s eyebrows were stuck together, furrowed in never-ending worry. “I smelled you, found you, in between buildings A and B. I do not know what happened, but I did not wish to worry everyone by taking you to the infirmary. I did not see any critical damage, so we brought you back here.”

Bianca nodded her head and offered a weak smile. Her head still thumped and her neck ached. “Thank you.” Then her smile disappeared. “Wait. You  _smelled_ me?”

Zoë sheepishly smiled. “Werewolf, remember?” When she saw Bianca’s eyes widen in Annabeth’s direction, she added, “Oh, she knows. She’s a Wiccan.”

“A what?”

“A Wiccan,” Annabeth said with a patient smile. “I practice magic.”

Bianca winced. All of this supernatural stuff was giving her a headache. She had repressed believing in this bullshit for too many years now. Is that why she was giving in to the idea so easily?

“Is everyone at this school creepy and monstrous?”

Annabeth and Zoë gaped like they were going to rant, but Phoebe laughed good-naturedly, leaning forward in the office chair.

“You say it like it’s a bad thing,” Phoebe noted. “Listen, sugar, everyone in this world has something weird about them. Our quirks just happen to be supernatural. We aren’t the monsters here.”

“The vampires are,” Zoë hissed spitefully.

“Vampires? What?”

“I found you lurking in their hangout place,” Zoë hinted. “The space between buildings A and B…”

Piper. Jason. Clarisse. Reyna.

Vampires.

Creatures of the night.

Bloodsucking fiends.

Demons.

Evil.

Killers.

Clovis’ dead body.

Bianca was going to be nauseous.

“Calm,” Annabeth reminded, ushering Bianca to lay down flat against her mattress. “Drink some of this,” she said, offering up the cup of water again. “It has healing herbs.”

“Did one of them find you?” Zoë asked with a sense of desperate urgency. “Who hurt you?”

“I—I—”

 _Thalia_.

“I don’t know.”

Was it Thalia, though?

She had been the only one around.

Did that mean Thalia…was a vampire?

It wasn’t too far-fetched. Thalia  _did_ wear leather and she listened to obnoxious music.

Her mind flashed back to the  _“How to Spot a Vampire”_  brochure Brunner had handed her forever ago.

_Is there someone lurking in the shadows, wearing something that is obviously from That 70’s Show? Do they say weird, forgotten phrases and words such as “pocketbook” and “icebox?” Do they seem to have no concept of buying clothes that aren’t made from leather? Chances are, you’re dealing with a creature of the night!_

Zoë started to say something, smiling to ease Bianca’s confusion, but then it disappeared quickly. She stood urgently, hunching over Bianca and forcefully gripping her chin. She tugged her head to the side, causing her neck to crack uncomfortably.

Zoë was remarkably strong—even for a girl on the boxing team.

“Ouch!” Bianca nearly yelped.

A sound—was it a grumble? A growl?—sounded from Zoë’s chest. It spooked the hair of Bianca’s arms, causing them to shoot up and turning them to stone.

“What?” Bianca asked urgently, sitting up as she saw Zoë edge away.

Annabeth almost looked surprised, but people like her were never surprised by anything. “You were bit.”

“On the neck?” Bianca shrieked.

“Not just bit,” Zoë spat. “Marked.”

“Marked?”

Her hand self-consciously flew to her neck. She pulled her hand away, set it out in front of her, and yet she saw no trace of blood.

Annabeth looked to Zoë for confirmation. When she received a nod, she turned back to Bianca.

“I smell it on you,” Zoë snarled. “It’s the scent we’ve been picking up for weeks now.”

Bianca didn’t like the way she was staring into her eyes—almost as if, at any moment, she would send doctors into the room with a huge syringe so that they could haul her off to a psychiatric ward and imprison her for life.

“We think, if anything Artemis claims is true, that vampires have been marking their victims about a week before they kill them.” Annabeth dug through her backpack for a manila folder. She flipped it open. “Octavian.”

She showed her a series of pictures, all of them contained a blond-haired boy with a sarcastic twist of his lips, toting a stuffed animal by its neck. In one of the pictures, he had distinct dents in the side of his neck—tooth-shaped dents. Bite marks.

“Lou Ellen,” Annabeth introduced next, brandishing new photos. “She…she was a Wiccan. Harmless, really. We were close.”

“I’m sorry,” Bianca apologized because, really, what else was there to say?

Annabeth shrugged her shoulders. “With any luck, the girl is safe and we’ll find her.”

Zoë grumbled something to herself before making eye contact with Bianca. “But our main priority right now should be protecting Bianca.”

“I don’t need protecting,” Bianca mouthed off before she meant to. She couldn’t help her pride—she hated that everyone always had to make her feel so helpless. “My roommate is already crazy about that. But you know what? This isn’t my first supernatural rodeo.”

“Your roommate?”

“Rodeo?”

Zoë glared at Phoebe. "Back to the roommate situation," she asserted. She looked worriedly at Bianca. "We followed her, like you asked."

Bianca had almost forgotten. She leaned up as far as she could. "And?"

"We saw her...hunting."

"Hunting what?" 

Zoë looked extremely hesitant, suspiciously glancing towards Annabeth. "Vampires."

So, wait. Thalia might be a vampire, but she also hunts vampires? Was she a Slayer, too? 

Bianca's head was starting to throb.

Annabeth sighed and leaned closer. “Thalia is good. That's all you need to know. She's been hunting down every lead she can find." She eyed the werewolves. "And you two shouldn't be following Thalia. If she were to find out..."

"I never understood how you could defend her," Zoë spat. "She's a bloodsucker."

So, Thalia  _was_ a vampire?

Why didn't the revelation scare Bianca as much as it should have?

Annabeth worriedly regarded Bianca, like she didn't want to be having this conversation in front of her. "She has a soul."

A vampire with a soul? So, Thalia was much like a declawed cat.

"Because you gave her one!" 

"Thalia is not the enemy," Annabeth argued firmly. "No matter how badly you want her to be."

Phoebe stopped Zoë from retaliating, and the two werewolves grudgingly left the dorm room. Even though they were clearly upset, Bianca knew the conversation was far from over.

"You shouldn't have gotten them involved," Annabeth lectured. 

"I didn't know," Bianca argued. "It's not like anyone is ever telling the truth around here."

Annabeth sighed deeply, like she hated to be the person in this position. "You're the Slayer."

"How did you--?"

"Vampires can sense you, Thalia being one of them. Don't worry. We make a habit of saving the world, but we can't do it this time without you."

Saving the world? She wasn't sure she was the right person for all of that.

This couldn’t end well.

* * *

“Annabeth sent me,” Bianca answered Thalia’s bewildered look. “What happened last night?”

Thalia turned a page in her comic book. She was comfortably lounging in her bed, appearing unfazed and mostly complacent. “What do you mean?”

“Last night,” Bianca spat. “Don’t play dumb with me.”

“We ran and you tripped.” Thalia shrugged. “Clumsy ass.”

“Thalia—”

“You mentioned Annabeth,” Thalia interrupted. “It’s been a while since she came over. Why didn’t she come talk to me herself?”

“She said you could help me.”

Another sharp intake of breath.

The comic book collapsed on the nightstand.

Thalia stood to walk closer to Bianca, and the other girl almost backed up. Almost. Bianca stood her ground, what little of it there was.

“Annabeth told you,” she stated. It wasn’t a question. “You’re the Slayer. I came here for you.”

“I already have a Watcher.”

Thalia tried not to smirk. “I didn’t say I wanted to be your Watcher.” Her tongue snaked out quickly, catching an imaginary bead on her bottom lip. “I guess you already realize what you’re up against?”

“Vampires.”

“Not just any vampires,” she contradicted, “the House of Olympus. A line of ancient Grecian vampires, turned by Hades himself to prey on humanity.”

“Piper? Percy? Clarisse? All of them?”

“Yes, and no.”

Bianca stared.

“Yes, they are vampires,” Thalia elaborated. “No, they do not prey on humanity.”

“But, they were around Clovis, he had teeth marks on his neck—”

“The work of other vampires,” Thalia assured. “It isn’t good to talk about all of this now.” She peeked out the window, smiling wickedly when she observed how the night had fallen. “We should go hunting. See what you can do.”

Bianca scowled. “I thought you weren’t a Watcher.”

“I don’t just watch,” Thalia remarked simply, tearing her leather jacket off the hanger and flinging it on Bianca’s head. “Put this on. You’ll need it.”

Hunting. She was going vampire hunting with Thalia, the girl who she had previously begged for information. Now that she was there for Annabeth, Thalia was all happy-go-lucky with sharing information that she had previously fought tooth and nail for? Bianca felt something strange rising in her chest. What? Were Thalia and Annabeth dating or something? Why did Bianca care anyway?

Refusing to acknowledge the fact that she was developing a cringe-worthy crush on the most annoying vampire ever, Bianca strung the leather jacket on. It was big on her and it smelled like Thalia--a delicious concoction of peppermint and smoke.

They walked for what seemed like forever, until they were far away from campus. Bianca’s eyes traced the graveyard, searching for signs of un-life.

"What do you sense?" Thalia prompted, hopping onto a gravestone and dangling her legs. "Close your eyes, open your senses."

"How?"

Thalia exhaled patiently, which was odd. Patience wasn't usually her thing. "Just clear your mind and listen."

Bianca tried her best, but it was pretty hard to clear her mind when Thalia was the thing that was on it.

Her mind finally went black. She felt a slight tug in the back of her brain—she followed it, focusing on the sensation as it intensified, drawing her further away from Thalia. She was too focused to hear Thalia hop off the gravestone, sulking quietly behind her. Bianca felt a slight  _ZAP!_  when Thalia was particularly close, and she reasoned it must be because she was a vampire. Still, it was easy to focus on other energy, resonating from other un-lifeforms. Thalia's energy felt different—electrified, unlike the other dull pulsing that she felt.

"Good," she barely heard Thalia's approving mutter. "Bianca, open your eyes."

If she had opened them a second later, she would have been tackled by a rabid vampire.

Bianca ducked and rolled instinctively, and landed propped against Thalia's legs. Thalia strategically placed a stake in her hand and stepped away, leaving Bianca with a sense akin to fear. Did she really expect her to do this on her own?

"Little girls," the vampire spat, blood-tinged saliva hitting the ground right before her feet. "You shouldn't be playing outside so late."

Bianca wished she was like Buffy, and could spit out super cool puns that would intimidate her enemies. Unfortunately, she wasn't like Buffy.

She managed to fling herself to her feet, positioning herself further away from her foe. Bianca was short of breath already, but she knew now wasn't the time to slack off.

"Stake plus heart equals dust," Thalia reminded, looking very much like she was two seconds away from gutting him herself. There was that impatience Bianca had missed (not). 

"Slayer," the vampire hissed, finally understanding. "Aren't you too little to be a Slayer?"

Okay, now she was pissed.

Bianca twirled the stake, trying not to feel too excited when she saw the prideful gleam in Thalia's eyes. She charged, taking the newbie vampire entirely off-guard. She jumped mid-air, catching him with a fierce roundhouse kick. He flew back, barely even touching the ground before he was attacking again. She dodged him easily, relying solely on her instincts, somehow moving even quicker than him. It was a couple agonizing minutes before she had him pinned to the ground with her boot. She scowled down at him, diving down, with the stake poised at his heart. He gasped, managing to mutter a quiet protest before he erupted into dust.

Thalia's slow clapping and obnoxious but appreciative whistle broke Bianca out of her reverie. "Is that your first slay?"

"Second," Bianca murmured, blowing her curly hair out of her face. "Was it that obvious?"

"You're very powerful," Bianca swelled at her words. "But you are not a seasoned fighter. You lack technique." Bianca deflated.

"No one asked you to critique me," Bianca spat off. "This isn't some kind of midterm. This is my life. This is my destiny."

She almost choked on her words. Had she just admitted that?

"You can't run from it," Thalia agreed in response to Bianca's revelation. "But what are you going to do if a more powerful vampire tries to kill you?" She pointed to the pile of dust. "He was just a newborn. He's never tasted blood." She edged scarily close to Bianca. "What if I wanted to kill you?"

Bianca worked her way backwards, unable to help it. Thalia was very imposing. "You wouldn't."

Bianca's back was now pressed against a mausoleum. Thalia's palm slammed against the building, so close to her face that her thumb brushed Bianca's ear. "But what if I did?"

The Slayer clenched her eyes shut, feeling Thalia's cold breath ghost across the column of her neck as the vampire craned her head. Thalia's fingers gradually brushed over the fang marks, almost possessively so, like she was seconds away from digging her teeth in to see if they could leave a greater wound. Was she scared? No, Bianca realized she wasn't scared. But this feeling...this anticipation...she wasn't certain what exactly she was feeling, but it made her chest hum.

She felt Thalia pull away and she released the breath she had been holding. Her dark eyes slowly blinked open. Thalia was leaning against the entrance to the mausoleum, muscled arms crossed over her chest.

"Train me," Bianca said firmly, throwing the stake to the ground. "If I'm not ready, then train me."

"One, that's not my job," Thalia moved forward and picked up the stake, "and, two, these things take a long time to carve."

"I called my Watcher," Bianca mentioned as the began to walk further into the cemetary. "I'm assuming he is coming to meet with me. But you should see this guy. I seriously doubt he can teach me how to fight."

"Watchers all look stuffy," Thalia snickered. "They make fun of vampires for wearing leather, but when's the last time anyone has seen a watcher _not_ in tweed?" 

"You've met Watchers?"

Thalia shrugged. "Met, killed, same thing, really."

"Well, please don't meet me," Bianca muttered, earning her a deep laugh. "Or anything that rhymes with meet."

Thalia's tongue flicked. It was impossible to look away and Bianca swore under her breath as her cheeks flushed. "Don't worry, B. I won't eat you."

She was sweating.

God, did Thalia realize what she was doing to her?

"Unless you want me to."

"Shut up," Bianca snapped, picking up her pace to leave Thalia in the dust. It didn't work. Of course it wouldn't.

Thalia was smirking, not even bothering to hold it back. She knew she was attractive. She knew what she was doing to Bianca. Why did that make Bianca blush even more?

"Where's the campus?" Bianca asked briskly, not bothering to meet her tormentor's eyes.

Thalia dug her hands in her jacket pockets. "Oh, you thought we were finished? That's cute. I want three more dust piles on my desk by midnight."

* * *

After they returned to the dorm, Bianca collapsed to her bed. Thalia had grinned, and she was pretty sure the vampire had even bothered to tuck her in before she crept back off into the night. Where was she going? Bianca didn't know if she wanted to know. She closed her eyes, feeling herself slip into nightmare realm.

_Why she always had to dream about Thalia now, she didn't know. She wasn't complaining by any means. Seeing Thalia in battle armor was somehow even hotter than seeing her half-naked. She looked powerful, but her skin was so dark she couldn't have been a creature of the night. Her breastplate was fresh leather, lined with a majestic eagle in the center. Her cape was a deep royal blue, one that almost nearly matched her eyes. Her battle skirt was a mixture of leather and gold, and her plumed helmet dangled under one of her arms. It looked...Greek._

_"You understand I have to do this?" she asked, electric blue eyes flickering down to gaze upon Bianca. What was she talking about? "They won't stop until every last one of us is dead. My army, my men, they aren't strong enough."  She cupped Bianca's face in her strong hands. Their skin contrasted greatly--Bianca's olive-skinned cheeks warmed from the gesture and her freckles split into a worried frown. "I have to kill them myself."_

_"What makes you think they can't defeat you?" Bianca retorted hotly. "They have slaughtered hundreds of men."_

_"They have yet to defeat a daughter of Zeus," Thalia said hoarsely. "My father is the King of Skies. He knows nothing of my strength."_

_The King of Skies? What was she talking about?  Bianca had been watching too many sci-fi movies._

_Thalia's thumb nimbly brushed away her tears. She hadn't even realized her dream self was crying. "I will return to you, asteri mu."_

* * *

"Where are you taking me?" Bianca asked, letting Thalia guide her through the campus. She had thought she had seen everything Jupiter University had to offer, but she was very wrong. She didn't recognize half of the buildings they passed. "Brunner is supposed to be here soon."

"Your Watcher can wait."

"He's called a Watcher, not a Waiter."

Thalia smirked. "If he cares, he'll wait."

Bianca paid no mind to the stares of the boxing club, although it was hard to ignore the judgement of her friends. She couldn't help but notice Artemis, though. The woman stuck out like a sore thumb, narrowing silver eyes at Thalia like she was trying her best to dissect her. Bianca shook it off, struggling to keep up with the vampire's long strides. 

Thalia rolled her eyes and Bianca shrieked as she was lifted onto Thalia's shoulders. "Put me down!"

"You're a slowpoke," Thalia accused. "Just hold on tight."

Bianca buried her hands in Thalia's short, thick hair. She tugged at the strands, catching a whiff of her unmistakable shampoo. Thalia, rather than tease her, let out a pleased little hum that made Bianca's lips twitch. It was almost too quiet to hear. Zoe stared angrily, and Bianca swore she saw Thalia smirk at her. They really didn't like each other.

It was a pleasant ride while it lasted, and Bianca almost hand fed Thalia some sugar cubes afterwards, but they eventually stopped in front of Building H. Bianca slid off Thalia's shoulders as she bent down, and they worked their way through the building, eventually stopping in front of the common room. The common room was filled with vending machines, a couple of TVs, and a handful of couches and chairs. Students from the building would often gather here during their free-time to form study groups. But, sitting in front of them was no study group.

The way Reyna smiled at Thalia when she walked in--it caused the hairs on Bianca's neck to stand. There was something there, similar to what Bianca had felt when Thalia mentioned Annabeth. 

"Rey," Thalia greeted playfully. "Long time no see."

Reyna hummed mindlessly. Her dark eyes flickered to Bianca before they drifted to Thalia. "Well, it seems you've been spending your time with different crowds."

"I'd hardly call Bianca a crowd," Jason remarked playfully, rising from his seat excitedly. He looked genuinely happy to see Thalia. "Sis, I missed you!"

"Don't hug me," Thalia said firmly, but Bianca could tell her resolve nearly cracked when Jason pouted. 

"Sister?" Bianca asked. "Thalia, Jason is your brother?"

Vampires could have siblings?

"It's a bit difficult to explain," Thalia said, obviously noticing her confusion. "Maybe another time."

"Why did you bring her here?"

Bianca looked up to see the girl with the dogtags, Clarisse, trudging into the room, looking very much like a boar that had been woken up by hunters.

"She's the one," Thalia explained. "The Slayer."

Reyna's eyebrow arched. "She is the Slayer?"

Clarisse laughed mockingly. "You're kidding, Sparky. This girl couldn't hurt a fly with fangs."

"You haven't seen her fight yet," Jason defended. "Size doesn't matter anyway, if she has the gift. I've seen Slayers smaller."

Clarisse scoffed, throwing off her red, ripped overshirt. "And I've killed Slayers taller. Allow me to test your theory, then."

Bianca was about to protest, when Thalia's growl rang through her bones. 

Surprisingly, Reyna's voice was the first to speak. "Clarisse, go back to bed. You and Piper need all the rest you can get before your mission."

Mission, what mission?

Even more surprisingly, Clarisse obeyed.

"Are you their leader?" Bianca asked in awe. She hated herself the second Reyna smirked.

Thalia appeared highly disgruntled by the notion.

"Clarisse merely respects me, Bianca." Reyna brushed a long black hair out of her eyes. "We are not led by any one vampire. But if you want to get technical, Thalia is our sire."

"Sire?"

"Our daddy, really," a voice joked, the accompanying figure appearing in the doorway. She was even shorter than Bianca and she wore the tightest leather skirt that she had ever seen. She had long, silky black hair that rested flat against her back. "Vampire daddy."

"Okay, Drew," Thalia stopped her with a hand. "That's enough."

"But I just started, daddy." Drew's laugh really sounded more like an evil cackle. "Who's the new girl? She smells human." She turned her beady eyes to Bianca, lips curling in distaste. "You'd be pretty if you picked up a contour brush."

Bianca's cheeks flared. What was this girl's problem?

"That's enough, Drew," Thalia snarled. "You all really aren't making a good impression. Do you want to save the world or not?"

Drew sighed wistfully. "Oh, what would I do without my designer?" Her face sobered and she glared. "Of course I want to save the world."

"Then sit down and shut up," Thalia snapped. "Bianca is the Slayer. She is the key to the preventing the apocalypse. I don't care if you guys think she's too small or needs contour. She could kill you without blinking. Just be glad we're on the same side for once."

Bianca wasn't sure why Thalia lied for her, but it made the resolve of the vampires crack a little bit, so she was alright with it. 

Reyna cleared her throat, motioning to Bianca. "Have a seat, Slayer. We have much to discuss."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! (Probably like 2 years late, idk). There's probably going to be one or two more chapters and then it'll be finished. This was highly Buffy-inspired.
> 
> There are a few questions still left unanswered, but they will be addressed very soon. Probably too soon for Bianca.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


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